Pale Fire
by PracticalSuccubus
Summary: Deku is attacked by a villain, and is comatose. Why does Bakugou feel angry about this? Why does he feel this much anger against the villain? Why does he feel worried about Deku? Is he starting to gain feelings for him? Did he have them this whole time?
1. Chapter 1

So!

Bad news first.

Love or Death and Running from the Past are going on hiatus right now.

This is not permanent.

I will be going back to them. I promise!

Now, onto this story! My first MHA story.

I have dived headfirst into BakuDeku yaoi. And I'm never leaving. Not like I'm complaining!

And yes. This WILL be BakuDeku.

* * *

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Steady beeping of the heart monitor.

The sound was irritating me. But, not as much as to why it was beeping.

He was laying there, unmoving. Not awake. Broken arm. Broken ankle. Bruised from head to toe. Internal injuries as well.

Why.

Why.

Why did he have to go and try to fight this villain alone?!

Why?!

Ever since I had heard of the attack, and I had heard who had been injured, I was immediately at the hospital. The others that were sitting in the room with me were Uraraka and Iida. Both of them were his closest friends, but I didn't care. What I did care about, however, was him just lying there. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what to say.

Dammit Deku!

That villain would pay.

He would pay for hurting him!

Why.

Why did I feel so strongly about this…?

I...I had no idea why I felt so strongly about his getting hurt like this. Did I….care about him? Did I really?

"Bakugou? Are you listening to me?"

Uraraka's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"The news is airing the footage from earlier. They have the villain's name and his quirk, but, it's not a quirk I've heard of before," Uraraka said.

"Who is it?" I asked, my voice still snappy. I was more than angry. More than pissed. I was absolutely fucking livid at this villain.

"His name is Chronos. His quirk is something called Frame Perfect. It's not one I've heard of either," Iida said. His expression was one of deep thought.

"Chronos. Where did he go, after he attacked Deku?" I growled.

"It wasn't just a straight attack on him. The reporters said he's been the main culprit for a string of robberies that have been happening. Deku must've caught him fleeing a scene, and, this is the end result," Uraraka said, looking over at the motionless boy. That was when footsteps entered the room.

"There's been no change yet," Uraraka said, before All Might and Aizawa said anything.

"Nothing, huh? I just wish he hadn't been alone. Maybe then he wouldn't have ended up like this," All Might said.

"Maybe. I wish I would've been there. I could've helped," Uraraka said.

"I would've too, had I been there," Iida said. Before anyone decided to look at me, I stormed out of the room. What would I have said? Did I want to be there? With him? With Deku? Alone?! Why would I have been with him?

I needed some air.

* * *

**~I~**

Darkness.

Floating in darkness.

Where was I?

Why couldn't I just wake up?

"Hello there, Izuku. How are you doing?"

What the-?!

Who was that?!

"All alone again. We haven't been like this for a while, have we? Can't you see the position you're in, now? How powerless you really are?"

Whose voice was that?

Why did it sound so familiar? An image started to form in front of me. The voice started up again, and it was coming from the image in front of me.

"You're powerless, Izuku. Isn't that right? Powerless to stop a villain. And you ending up like this? Are you really the hero that took down the Hero Killer himself? Are you so sure you're still like that?"

"Who are you?" I shouted. The image in front of me laughed, and started to become clearer. My eyes widened, when I saw a mirror image of myself.

"Isn't it obvious, Izuku? I'm you. Every little thought you have.. Every single one. That's me. You've been having doubts lately, haven't you? You had heard about Chronos, and how he was committing robberies. You wanted to catch him. To prove to All Might that you're really getting the hang of One For All. But, you couldn't. You failed. Why did you fail?" the mirror image asked me.

"I….I don't know. His quirk! He'd be in front of me one second, but then suddenly, I'd be getting hit from behind. Or, I'd have a dozen hits get me at once! Or, he'd be in a different place away from me! I don't know how it happened," I exclaimed.

"Yes, yes. But, we have One For All. We should've been able to predict his movements. Or at the very least, not get hit as much. But, again, we failed. We failed to catch Chronos. We failed to win the fight. We failed by being alone. Why did we go alone? We could've asked Todoroki for help. Uraraka. Iida. Kacchan. We could've, but we didn't," the image said, walking closer to me.

"Why are you saying these things? Why? Just stop!" I yelled.

"I'm only telling the truth, am I not? We'll never be a true hero if we can't catch a single villain, right?" the image asked.

"It was just one villain! There'll be others we can catch! We can prove ourselves to All Might that way," I reasoned.

"Yes, but, not catching one villain leads to not catching another, correct? And that leads to another, and another, and another. And besides, we can't catch any villains like this, can we? We can't walk. We can't talk. We can't even wake up. Can't you see that, Izuku? Right now, we can't do anything. Just like we were when we were younger," the image said, smirking. He put his hand on my shoulder. "You know I'm right. You know I tell the truth," he said. I shut my eyes tightly, turning away from him.

I didn't want to think like that, but what he was saying...what it was was saying was true. In this state, I couldn't do anything.

And, if I couldn't even wake up, could I even start catching villains again?

* * *

So! My brother actually created the villain Chronos for me!

I asked him to come up with a completely new villain for my story for me, which I am eternally grateful for! The quirk is also created by my brother!

Until the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

Villain: Chronos

Age: 24

Quirk: Time Perfect

Quirk Description: Can manipulate time by 1 second. I.e., can go back in time 1 second, pause time for one second, or jump ahead 1 second.

And, a little request, maybe? For Chapter 3, can I get at least 3 reviews, telling me what you like so far, or what you think is going to happen?

* * *

_**Earlier that day…**_

I was walking down the street, heading towards the store. Mom needed some extra ingredients for dinner, and I had told her I'd run out for her.

I kept hearing people talking about a new villain on the rise. The name he went by was Chronos. His quirk was Frame Perfect, but, no one had any idea what that quirk did. I had my guard up, though. If I ran into him, I'd put all I had into fighting him.

I was just leaving the store, when someone seemed to teleport away from me. He had been on one end of the street when I had blinked, and was suddenly at the other end.

"Hey!" I yelled out, dropping my grocery bag. The person stopped, and turned to see me.

"Oh? And who the hell are you, boy? Some student wanting to be the hero?" he asked. He was wearing just a casual t-shirt and capris, but he had short, smoke-colored hair, and eyes as bright as fire.

"How did you do that? You were at the end of the street, and now you're here," I said.

"Listen, kid. I don't have time to listen to all your questions. I need to get back to where I live. And believe me, it's far," he said.

"With that bag of stolen goods?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. The guy's expression darkened.

"So. That's how it's going to be. You're a little young to confront villains, aren't you, kid? Doesn't matter," he said. I got in a fighting stance, ready to at least hold him off until police came, but I was suddenly flying in between two buildings.

"Who are you?" I asked, shakily standing up.

"You can call me Chronos. But, you won't be able to tell anyone you know who I am," he smirked.

"What are you talking ab-" I was cut off as I received another blow from behind me. I quickly turned around to him, and threw a punch. He was moving to fast for me to be able to summon up my One For All so quick, but he seemed to disappear, and I was eating the ground yet again. I stayed there, wanting to start up One For All. Once I got it up, I stood up, and started to throw another punch at Chronos, but he evaded me again, appearing at the end of the alleyway.

It has to be his quirk. But, what is it? And how does it work? I've never seen anything like it, I thought. I was snapped out of my thoughts as I hit the wall of the alleyway. As I hit it, I heard a distinct cracking sound in my arm. My eyes widened as my body started to register the pain of the broken limb. I started to get up, having gotten used to the pain, from before, when I couldn't control One For All. I stood up, and launched myself at Chronos, but he seemed to disappear again, only for me to hit the ground again, my ankle snapping this time. I was shakily on my good arm and knees, when I felt his foot on my back. How the hell was I not able to land a single hit on him?! Just what was his quirk?!

"I didn't want to have to harm a high schooler, but you left me no choice. You'd better stay down, before I have to keep you down there. Now let me go, and nothing else will happen to you," Chronos growled in my ear. He took his foot off my back, and started to walk away. I struggled to stand, my ankle screaming at me to get weight off of it, but I faced Chronos' retreating form.

"I'm not going to let you go. You're still a villain, and I'm still going to bring you in!" I yelled. Chronos stopped walking, and sighed softly. After he did, I suddenly found myself firmly on the ground again, my back screaming in pain.

"I guess you'll have to learn the hard way, then. I really didn't want to harm a high school student, but you just won't quit. Well then, I'll have to make you," Chronos said coldly. He pressed harder into my back with his foot, making a scream erupt from my throat. He grabbed a handful of my hair, and lifted my head back, before slamming hard on the ground.

That was the last I remembered before everything went black.

* * *

**~B~**

I was walking home from the gym, when I noticed a large crowd of people gathering near the supermarket. I groaned under my breath, and continued walking. My curiosity, however, was piqued when I saw an ambulance the closer a got. I sped up my walking, when I saw the paramedics taking out a stretcher, and going into the alley. I tried to get closet, and managed to, but what I saw made me freeze in my tracks.

Deku.

Deku was gently being lifted and placed on the stretcher. His arm was bent at a weird angle, as was his ankle. He was covered with bruises, and had dried blood trailing down from his mouth. His eyes were completely shut, and it didn't look like they would open anytime soon.

"...Deku….," I whispered softly to myself. I quickly got out my phone to call his mother, and just before I hit send, I stopped.

No.

Why the hell did I care about him like this?!

Argh!

I deleted the number off my phone, and started storming down the street again. Why did he make me feel this way?! That damn nerd was always doing this to me. Somehow making me care about him, then me getting angry about it. Why did he make me so angry?! I sat on a bench, gripping my head. I was confused and angry, and only he did that to me. Every single time.

I looked down at my hands. Did it come from a protective side? Ever since he had told me he was quirkless when we were younger, a new side had opened up in me. I took my phone out of my pocket, and looked at it. I gripped it tightly, as I unlocked it, and went to my contacts. I sent a quick text to both Uraraka, the gravity girl, and Iida, Mr. Motor Legs.

_Deku got hurt. I saw him being put in the back of an ambulance. I'm going to the hospital. You should, too. _

* * *

I took a deep breath, leaning against the hospital.

Deku.

Deku, Deku, Deku.

I wouldn't have let him been alone, had I known this was going to happen. Of course, I couldn't say that in front of the others. I had a reputation to protect. I would've also protected him from this Chronos. And, his quirk. Time Perfect. What the hell did that mean? I had never heard of it before.

"Tell me. Do you like him?"

"What the hell?! When did you come out?!" I exclaimed, jumping when I heard Mr. Aizawa's voice.

"Just now. Now, answer the question. I can tell by the look on your face, I just want to confirm it," Mr. Aizawa said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"And what look is that?!" I growled. I felt my hands starting to heat up in anger.

"You care about him. You care, but you don't want to show it. I've been teaching for a long while now, and know certain looks. Just tell me, and your secret's safe with me," Mr. Aizawa said. Instead of answering him, I stormed away from the hospital, and started heading home.

There was no way I had a crush on that damn nerd!

No way in hell!

But then, why did I care for him?

Why?

Why did I have this protective side for him? He could clearly protect himself now, after he somehow got a quirk. But, after things that happened today, seeing him in the hospital. Learning of his comatose state. That protective side of me was rearing itself again.

Why did he have to be alone, dammit?!

* * *

**~I~**

"Maybe All Might regrets giving us One For All. Maybe he should've chosen someone different. If he did, then that person would've been able to stop a simple villain like that guy," the image said darkly, that evil grin a permanent feature on its face.

"Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up," I mumbled, covering my ears. I didn't want to hear this! It wasn't true! It wasn't!

"You can't shut me up, Izuku. Even if you cover your ears, you can still hear me. I'm you. Every single negative thought you've ever had. That's me. Like, maybe Kacchan was right. Maybe we should've gone to the roof of the middle school and jumped," the image laughed darkly, its voice loud and clear, even though I still had my ears covered. I crouched down, covering my ears even more. I didn't want to listen.

"Just be quiet! I don't want to listen to you!" I yelled.

"You have no choice. You can't make me go away. We're worthless, just like Kacchan said when he calls us Deku," the image said. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping that that, somehow, would block out the voice. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm all you have right now. I'm all you'll ever have. Forever and ever," it purred in my ear. I felt tears spring into my closed eyes. "We're worthless. We truly deserve the name Deku, and you know we do. We were stupid. Stupid. Idiotic. Dumb. Unintelligent. Mindless. Foolish. Moronic. Our little crush on Kacchan? That's all it'll ever be. A crush. Kacchan can never love someone as brain-dead as we are."

* * *

Aah! I'm so mean to Izuku ;~;

Don't worry, though. It's going to get more and more devastating before it gets better!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello!

So, this chapter is all Bakugou, but it's necessary for our boi!

Onto the chapter!

* * *

**~B~**

_When I woke up, I was in a blank space, with Deku standing in front of me. His eyes were closed, and he had a small smile on his face._

_"Oh, Kacchan. Aren't you happy with how things turned out?" he asked._

_"What're you talking about, Deku?" I growled. Deku's smile grew a little._

_"I mean, you should be happy, right? You've been telling me since, what, how old were we when you first told me I'd be better off dying?" Deku asked, his voice still in that happy tone of his. I blinked, getting thrown off by this._

_"Deku. Just...just say it," I said, trying to stay on balance._

_"You should be happy. After all, this is what you wanted. Right?" Deku asked. His eyes shot open. They were pure white. No pupils at all. The injuries I had seen on him at the hospital had suddenly appeared. Blood started to trickle from his mouth, that was still in a smile._

_"Aren't you happy, Kacchan?" he asked again, his voice echoing everywhere. Invading my mind._

"No!" I shouted, shooting up in a sitting position in my bed. I blinked and looked around. I was in my room. Good. Everything was back to normal.

Well, aside from Deku still being in the hospital.

I grabbed my phone, and looked at the time. 3 am. Great. I flopped back onto my pillows, and stared at the ceiling, putting my phone aside. What Mr. Aizawa had said.

My dream.

Was I happy? I mean, I had said that I wanted him to, well…

But, that was in the past. We were just kids. In elementary school.

Then, in middle school. We had stayed together, going from elementary to middle school. We even had the same schedule. He would always follow me around, like a dog or a duck. I...had actually liked him staying close. But, I had had a reputation at that point. So, I had yelled at him in a crowded hallway to stay the fuck away from me. And, he had. And, when I had yelled at him, his response had always stuck with me.

"A-Alright, Kacchan. I'll…..stay away from you. I'm sorry."

He moved to the back of the classroom. Stopped following me. Seeing him sitting alone at lunch all the time, even before I had yelled at him, had always made my heart ache for some reason. We had still technically walked to school together, him staying far behind me. Then, after middle school, we hadn't seen each other hardly all summer. The time I actually did see him, I had been engulfed by the sludge villain. After that, the next time I saw him was going to UA for the entrance exam.

I tried to push everything out of my mind. I needed to get back to sleep. That damn nerd ws monopolizing my thoughts again, and it needed to stop. Unless.

Unless.

Unless what Mr. Aizawa had said was right.

Did I…..Did I have feelings for Deku? I shook my head and closed my eyes. This was ridiculous.

* * *

The next day at school, everyone else had heard about the attack on Deku, and were voicing their worries and concerns. As usual, I ignored everyone as I went to my desk. I could feel two pairs of eyes on me, and when I looked up, both Uraraka and Iida were giving me concerned looks. I rolled my eyes, and looked away. I knew exactly what they wanted to ask me. Again, I had a reputation to keep up, so I wouldn't say anything to them.

Mr. Aizawa entered the room, and everyone quieted down.

"I'm sure you've all heard the news concerning Izuku. I know how worried you all must be, but now all I will say is this. Because of what has happened, if you encounter a shady young man, and he uses a quirk you've never seen before, I want you to avoid making contact with him. We've all heard his quirk is called Time Perfect. Even us Pro Heroes haven't heard of it. Do not engage this villain. I want you to contact the police immediately, and tell them exactly where you see him going. Understood?" Mr. Aizawa asked.

"Understood," the class echoed.

* * *

At lunch, both Iida and Uraraka came over to where I was sitting.

"What?" I asked, annoyed at not being left alone.

"Yesterday at the hospital, you left before answering and without hearing anything else we said. Bakugou. Would….Would you have helped him, had you known?" Uraraka asked. I suddenly found my food a lot more interesting than it was, and went silent.

"Bakugou, we know how you feel about him. We just want the actual answer," Iida said.

"Yes," I said, my voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Wait, what was that?" Uraraka asked. I could hear the surprise in her voice.

"I said, yes. I would've. But, don't tell anyone," I said, feeling my face starting to heat up.

"Wait, really! Bakugou, that's….that's really nice of you. You're not being manipulated or controlled or anything, are you?" Uraraka asked.

"Uraraka!" Iida said sharply.

"No, I'm not. And again, don't go broadcasting it to the entire school," I said.

"Bakugou….Are you free after school? I want to talk with you and Uraraka about something," Iida said.

"Wait, when did I get roped into this, Iida?" Uraraka exclaimed.

"My apologies. I meant to ask you later, but I figured now is better than any other time," Iida said.

"Where are we going to meet up?" I asked.

"Right outside UA. We can either walk to my house or go somewhere. I'll let you two decide," Iida said.

"I know a good cafe we could go to," Uraraka said.

"...Sounds good to me. Now, will you two please leave me alone?" I asked.

"I guess. Just find us outside of UA when school is done with," Iida said. Both he and Uraraka got up and left me alone.

As I finished eating, my thoughts drifted to Deku yet again. I wanted to scream in frustration. Why did I keep thinking of him!

But, that...nightmare I had.

_'Aren't you happy, Kacchan?'_

No.

No, I wasn't. I wasn't happy in the slightest. We were just kids. Just in elementary school, when I had said that. That he was better off dead.

After I had said that, and the heartbroken look he had given me afterwards. I had never said it again. I yelled at him so many times. He and I shared a lot of friends in middle school, and once I had yelled at him to leave me alone, most of our friends had stayed by my side, and had even _congratulated me_ for 'kicking him out of our group'. But now, I didn't even have them to lean on. All of them had left my side either because of my damn temper, or just fading away. But he stayed.

He stayed. And I continued to yell and scream at him.

I left the cafeteria, and absentmindedly started walking to class. I suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall, as the realization hit me.

Mr. Aizawa was right.

I…

I had caught feelings for that damn nerd.

* * *

After school, Iida, Uraraka, and I walked to a cafe close by. Once we had ordered some drinks, and were sitting at an outdoor table, Iida looked at Uraraka and I.

"Now, I know what I've said in the past. But, the thing is, Deku has done so much for us. We...We need to repay him in some way. I know I wouldn't normally suggest something like this, but I feel it's only necessary. I say that we find Chronos, and take him down, to avenge Deku." Iida said, looking at both Uraraka and I with determination in his eyes.

* * *

YAAAS, BAKUGOU! CATCH DEM FEELINGS!

I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! For Chapter 4, I have a question for you.

Should I leave this cliffhanger where it is, and do a chapter solely on Deku, or do I continue on from this here cliff?

I'll let y'all decide!

Until chapter 4!


	4. Chapter 4

So, now that Kacchan got a chapter all for himself, it's time for our other star to get his own chapter!

I'm actually quite pleased with how this one came out! See you at the bottom!

* * *

**~I~**

"Come on. Just admit it already. Say the words. Let me envelope us entirely~," the image purred.

Why.

Why wouldn't it just shut up?

How long has it been? A day? A week? A month? I had no idea.

I couldn't give in. If I gave in, would my fight to be the ultimate hero be ended?

"Just be quiet. Please. I just want to rest. I don't want to hear your voice," I said.

"Rest? That's what your doing now, technically. Don't you worry, though. Once you let me envelope us, I will disappear. I will be an actual part you. Just say that I was right. Can't you see what I'm saying is true? All Might entrusted the Quirk to us, and we can't catch a single villain. And, before you say you already know this, just think. We brought down the Hero Killer. We may have been reprimanded by the Chief of Police, but we did it. One of the most dangerous villains out there, and we brought him down, even after he immobilized us multiple times. Yet we fall to a villain who isn't nearly as tough? Of course, his Quirk was odd, but we should've been able to predict his movements after a while. We should've been anticipating where he would come from. Or, we could've let him go, and would've escaped with only a broken arm, ankle, and a few more injuries. But no. We had to be idiotic, and continue to egg him on-"

"I said to be quiet! I know all of this! You don't need to repeat it! Just be quiet! Please!" I screamed, covering my ears, even though I knew it wouldn't stop it. I couldn't take much more of this!

Kacchan...!

Kacchan!

Save me!

Save me from myself! I can't….I can't do it on my own.

The image was smirking at me, but was keeping its mouth shut for once. I turned away from it, curling up tightly. I felt tears going down my cheeks. Even though I didn't want to admit it, with this image being a representation of all my negative thoughts, everything it was saying was everything I thought about late at night, when I was alone, and Mom was asleep. Everything was true.

Especially with what it had said about Kacchan never loving someone like me.

Why would Kacchan ever love me? All he ever does is yell and scream at me. How he's going to beat me, and become the number one hero. How I will always be useless, even with my new Quirk.

Yet, behind all of that, I fell deeply for his other, softer side. The side he never showed the public, because of his reputation. He could actually be very nice at times, and had helped me a lot in our Final Exam. When we were younger, and behind closed doors either in my room or his, he'd show me either something he found that he thought was cool, or he'd let me watch All Might's debut video on loop, like I always had Mom do for me when I was a kid. Even after it was released to our school that I was Quirkless, and all the other kids started teasing me, along with Kacchan, whenever he'd come over or I went over, he'd apologize genuinely. He'd tell me that he never wanted to insult me, and hated doing it, but had to in front of the other kids.

But then, in fourth grade, that changed.

The bullying had gotten worse. Even Kacchan's attitude had gotten worse. He no longer apologized for going along with everyone. Then, on the playground one day after school, I was trying to read away from everyone, when Kacchan had come over with our group of friends. Well, more his group of friends, while I just usually tagged along because of him. I didn't want to fight that day, so I had gotten up, and was walking home, when Kacchan had said that one thing that I never forgot.

"You'd be better off dead, Deku! No one needs a Quirkless hero like you!"

I could see he regretted saying it right after he had, but I had been in so much shock and sadness, that I had dropped my book, and just turned to him. He had guilt written all over his face, and it seemed he wanted to backpedal his words, but he didn't want to in front of others. It was only until I felt cold on my cheeks from the wind as I ran home after that I realized I was crying.

And then, in middle school, when had yelled at me to stay the fuck away from him in school, I had just obliged quietly. Yet, I couldn't stop my already-growing feelings for him. Staying away from him meant I could pine from afar, and no one would notice. The day Kacchan had stolen and burned my hero book, while I was disappointed, I was thankful he hadn't grabbed a similar-looking notebook, which had pictures of him that I had drawn, with hearts surrounding him. I couldn't deny my feelings, but I also feared rejection from him. I wouldn't be able to accept it if he rejected me.

"You're thinking about Kacchan, aren't you?"

Dammit!

Why wouldn't it just stay quiet?!

"You can't fool me, Izuku. You forget we are one in the same. I know what it looks like when we're thinking of everything Kacchan's done, but we still love him. We still know his soft side is buried deeply underneath. We think we could reach it, if only we tried. Yet, we couldn't stand it if Kacchan rejected us. We'd be so heartbroken if he did. We wouldn't be able to move. Sleep. Eat. Breathe. We wouldn't do it if he rejected us, so we just pine from far away, like always," it said. I stood up, and started to run away from the image. I didn't know where I was going, but, I didn't care. I just wanted to get away from it. Be alone. Be in silence!

* * *

I didn't know where I was running, or where I was, but I couldn't go any further. I fell to my hands and knees, trying to catch my breath. I fell to the side, and curled up again.

Finally. Peace.

I shut my eyes, and fell asleep, filling my mind with Kacchan.

* * *

When I woke up, I almost screamed, seeing the image smirking above me.

"You honestly thought you could run away from yourself? So idiotic. Why won't you just give in? It'll be easier to, y'know," the image said. It took my hand, and forcefully pulled me to a standing position. It put its hand on top of mind, and my eyes widened as it started to fade into me.

"Just say I'm right, and make this much easier. Give in, Izuku. That's all I need you to do," it purred.

Kacchan.

Uraraka.

Iida.

Mom.

All Might.

Kacchan….

I'm sorry.

I can't deny it anymore.

Forgive me.

"Y….You…..You're right," I said in a soft voice, hanging my head and closing my eyes. I felt the image's presence over me, as it overtook me completely.

* * *

When I blinked my eyes open, the room was blindingly white. Mom was asleep next to me, but, it didn't matter that I was awake now. I looked over, and saw a calendar. It had been three weeks since the incident.

Three weeks had already passed? Oh well. It didn't matter. Who cared?

"Izuku…? Izuku! You're awake!"

Mom's relieved voice broke through my thoughts. I turned my head carefully to her.

"Hi, Mom…" I said softly. Her expression changed from a happy relief to one of confusion and worry.

"Izuku…? Is something wrong, sweetie?" she asked me.

"No. Everything...Everything's fine, mom. Promise…," I said, trying to raise my voice to reassuring. But, it didn't work. I couldn't deny that everything wasn't okay, but, I didn't care. Because of my stupidity, I was in this hospital bed. Because of my idiocy, I had been out for three whole weeks. Because of my incompetence, a villain had gotten away. I even had All Might's One For All, and it still wasn't enough.

"I...I'm going to go get a nurse. Are you sure you're okay, Izuku?" Mom asked, the confusion and worry still in her voice.

"Yes, mom. I'm...I'm fine," I said. Mom gave me one look before leaving to get the nurse. I stared at the hospital ceiling.

I couldn't catch Chronos.

Not catching this villain, it would lead to me not being able to catch any other villains. Why did I have to wake up? Why couldn't I have just stayed the way I was? Maybe I could stay here.

Stay here forever.

It'd be for the best. Not being able to catch villains. Not having to face Kacchan anymore. The only one I loved would never love me back. It'd be for the best if I never saw him again. Pining away from afar was killing me, and I couldn't take it if he ever rejected me. I took a deep breath, and turned my head carefully so I was looking outside. The sky was a bright blue, and there was hardly any clouds. How perfect. The exact opposite of my mood. Turning my head carefully again, I took in the casts on my ankle and my arm. I could only hope that both of these injuries would keep me in here forever.

Just how I wanted.

* * *

Those three weeks?

Yeah.

Don't you worry your little heads! Auntie PracticalSuccubus has got you!

Until Chapter 5!


	5. Chapter 5

I'm aliiiiive!

Okay! I hope y'all like this chapter!

* * *

**_~Three Weeks Earlier…~_**

**~B~**

"I agree. He's done so much to help us. Now it's our chance to help him," Uraraka said.

"I...I agree, too. I will admit, he's done a lot to help me, even if I don't say it," I said, looking away. I felt a hand on my forehead. Looking up, I saw Uraraka with a concerned look on her face.

"Bakugou. Are you sure you're okay? You've not been acting like yourself today," she said.

"Uraraka!" Iida said sharply again. She took her hand off my forehead.

"No. It...It's alright. I'll admit, I just realized something today. And, I'm not sure how to go about it," I said.

"Go about it?" Iida asked.

"Yes. If you two promise me you won't tell anyone in our school, I'll tell you," I said.

"Promise," Uraraka and Iida echoed. I took a deep breath, and looked straight at my drink.

"I was walking to class after lunch, and I was doing some thinking over what's happened, and I….I came to realize that I...I...I seemed to have…..caught feelings for him," I said softly. When I looked up, Uraraka's eyes were shining happily and Iida was smiling in approval.

"I always had a feeling you liked him! You two always seemed really close, even when you yelled at him. He never did leave your side," Uraraka said.

"Just the way I can sometimes see you looking at him, it's quite obvious. For both of you, really," Iida said.

"Well. I need...I need help. As you can tell, I can't just very well go to him and tell him I like him. I can't do that," I mumbled into my drink.

"The first thing we need to do is take care of Chronos. After that, we'll help you with Deku," Uraraka said.

"So, to start out this plan, unfortunately, it'll start out as a waiting game. After what happened with Deku, no doubt Chronos will stay in hiding to let everything cool down. When he strikes again, we'll have to be quick about it. With his Quirk, it seems he'll be able to lose us pretty easily if we're not careful. But,as we all know from Mr. Aizawa's classes, every quirk has their shortcomings. We'll just have to find out what his is. Once we do that, Here's what I've come up with, especially with you in the mix, Bakugou…"

* * *

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting had to be the worst part of this entire plan. As I went through the days, all I could think about was had been almost two weeks now, and he still hadn't woken up yet. I went to go and visit him every day. When his mother would leave the room for a while, I'd softly stroke his hair. Maybe take a few strands, and tuck it behind his ear. I'd talk to him in a gentle voice, which was unlike me to do, but it felt right. As time went on, I could only feel that my feelings towards him were getting stronger and stronger.

My only issue was telling him.

I'd practice it at the dorm, but it sounded so awkward coming from me. Then, I'd get frustrated. Then I'd start yelling.

It was hopeless. I'd never be able to confess to him.

Uraraka, Iida, and I would sit in one of the areas near large stores, pretending to read or be lost in our phones as we searched the crowds for anyone using a strange quirk.

If he could easily lose us, the plan was for Iida to follow him, and wherever they ended up, he was to text either Uraraka or me of where they were, so we could enact phase 2.

It was nearing up on almost three weeks with nothing, when it happened.

We were in our usual spot, when we saw a young looking man running away from a large store, and when we blinked, he was at the other end of the street. Immediately, Iida took off after him, as Uraraka and I followed as fast as we could. We both soon lost the two, and had no idea where to go. After about twenty minutes, Uraraka's phone rang. She put it on speaker, and I leaned in more closely.

"I found out where he lives. I almost lost him a few times, but I was able to track him down. I'll text you the address, Uraraka," Iida said.

"Alright. Thank you so much, Iida," Uraraka said.

"We'll be there as soon as you text us the address," I said.

"Alright then. I'll be waiting here," Iida said. He hung up, and soon, Uraraka's phone pinged with the text of the address. The two of us started making our way to the house. We saw Iida hiding in a bush out front, so we went to join him.

"In there?" I growled softly. I could feel my hands heating up in anger.

"Yes. But, we shouldn't draw too much attention just yet. He could quickly turn the tables on us, and attack us for breaking into his house," Iida said.

"True…" Uraraka sighed, looking towards the house.

"Well then, how do we grab him without doing exactly that? We need a plan now to get inside, like Deku would try and figure out," I snapped. Iida pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Iida. Stop. We need to just go in there. We made it this far. It'd be pointless to stop now. Now, we should enact the plan that you came up with," Uraraka said.

"I can blast us in. I want to turn in this idiot already. It took us forever to get this far," I growled. My hands were hot, and I was on the verge of exploding an opening right then and there. Iida looked between Uraraka and I, seemed to think about something, and then ended up sighing softly.

"Fine. Bakugou. Make us an entrance," Iida said firmly. I smirked. I used a small blast to send me up into the air towards the house, anduseda second blast at the front door. As soon as the smoke cleared, Iida, Uraraka and I ran inside. We saw a young man sitting at a table, sipping from a coffee mug. The three of us got in fighting stances. The young man put his mug down, and gave us a smile.

A smile that I didn't like.

"Well well. It seems I was right, feeling that someone was following me. After what happened last time someone tried to apprehend me, I had a feeling no one would be dumb enough to do that, let alone try to fight me. But, then again, people do end up doing surprising things. I told the last one that I don't like harming high schoolers, but if need be, I will. And you three know how that turned out, don't you? In fact, I hear he still hasn't woken up yet," the young man said. I growled, and started to heat up my hands again. A firm hand came down on my shoulder. I saw Iida giving me a hard glare. I took a subtle deep breath.

I couldn't let my feelings for Deku get in the way right now. We needed to focus on this. Iida seemed to notice me calming down slightly, so he took his hand off my shoulder.

"You all can call me Chronos. I'm almost positive you've heard of me, or you wouldn't be here, my door wouldn't be gone, and I'd just be here, alone, enjoying my coffee after a successful run. But, that's enough of that. I won't deny you what you're after, but this space is far too small, especially for four of us. Let's move to a place that's more open, shall we?" Chronos asked. The three of us kept our eyes on him as he calmly stood up, put his mug in the sink, and started heading outside. We followed him, not trusting anything he was about to do. Once we were all outside, his smile instantly changed to a smirk.

"Now. I told your friend to leave me be, and he didn't. You saw what happened. You think I'll go easy, just because there's three of you? No one can seem to figure out what my quirk does. With that, I have the advantage!" Chronos yelled, suddenly seeming to disappear. We all looked around, and Uraraka seemed to suddenly fly back towards the house. Chronos stood in front of where she had been.

"Uraraka!" Iida yelled.

"Go Iida! Start it!" Uraraka yelled back. Iida started to run circles around where Chronos stood. Chronos only seemed to smirk at this, but after a quick second, his smirk faded. Iida looked like he had a mark on him, but he continued running. Chronos kept trying to hit him, and Iida continued running.

"Bakugou. Just before he lands a blow on me, strike!" Iida yelled out. I waited for an opening, and quickly seeing what was happening, I shot a small explosion at Chronos. After I blinked, Chronos was at another end of Iida's circle. Uraraka had come back to where Iida and I were. I shot another, more concentrated blast at Chronos. He seemed to somehow dodge again, but I saw fatigue written on his face, and smirked. I started to shoot smaller blasts,making them close to my AP Shot. Uraraka managed to get in the circle Iida had created. As I kept shooting, I finally managed to hit Chronos in the shoulder. He cried out slightly, and with this, Uraraka crept in behind him, giving him a quick tap on his back. Chronos started to flail in the air, as my smirk grew. Iida stopped running in circles as I shot myself into the air again. I heated up my hand, and aimed my fist directly at Chronos, hitting him square in the chest.

"Release!" Uraraka cried, sending Chronos falling towards the ground. He hit the ground hard, and I saw his eyes shut into unconsciousness. Iida pulled out his phone, and called the police. As he did that, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, and saw it was Deku's mother. I answered.

"Bakugou? Thank goodness you answered," Inko sighed in relief.

"Did something happen?" I asked.

"Well, it did. It's good, but only slight. Izuku's awake, thankfully. But, something's wrong. I'm not sure what it is. He won't tell me. He says everything's fine, but, I know my son. He's had this look on his face before. I'm hoping you could come here. Maybe you could try and talk to him," Inko said.

"He's awake. Alright. I'll be on my way. Besides that, how is he?" I asked.

"Besides not telling me what's wrong, the nurse who looked over him said everything seems good. I was told that they might call Recovery Girl here for him, but they might not, to let his body naturally heal from this. When he's cleared to go back to school-"

"I'll help him. You don't have to worry about that," I said.

"Thank you so much, Bakugou. I'll tell them you're on your way. Are Iida and Uraraka coming as well?" Inko asked.

"Iida might be a bit late, but Uraraka will be coming with me," I said. The two looked at me. Iida had just gotten off his phone, and he nodded at my statement, as did Uraraka.

"Alright then. I'll see you when you get here," Inko said. We both said goodbye, and hung up.

"Deku's awake. His mother said something's wrong, and wants me to talk to him, but she also wants you both to come with," I said.

"Iida, are you cool with staying here until the police show up?" Uraraka asked.

"Yes. I'll join you both, once Chronos is taken away. I also was able to notice what his quirk was capable of, so I'll tell the police what I can," Iida said. Uraraka and I nodded once, and we set off towards the city, to catch a ride to the hospital.

* * *

Ooh! I can't wait until the next chapter!

I'll see y'all then!


	6. Chapter 6

So, this is the last chapter of Pale Fire.

Not bad for my first MHA fic. There will be more in the future, I promise! In the meantime, I have a new YGO fanfic up called Burden of Time.

Along with that, I can say with good news that because I only work on two fics at one time, with this one being done, Running from the Past is not officially off hiatus!

So, look forward to that coming soon!

I hope you enjoy this final chapter!

* * *

Going into Deku's room, he didn't even notice me. He was staring out the window. His eyes were no longer that bright emerald that I knew. Instead, they were murky; dull.

"Deku…?" I asked. He didn't even turn to me. He just sighed softly, and continued to stare outside.

"Kacchan. I...I don't want to argue today, okay? Can't you just leave me alone?" he asked in a flat tone. This…..This wasn't Deku. Deku wouldn't be like this after one villain attack. He'd usually still be upbeat. He'd want to go and try again. He'd be looking for either the next villain, or looking on how to improve himself to do better next time. He wasn't like this at all.

What had happened between the villain that attacked him and now?

"Deku….what happened? What's wrong?" I asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Nothing's wrong. Just go," he said.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong. You aren't yourself. You're not normally like this," I said.

"I don't want to talk about it. You wouldn't even understand," Deku said.

"I want to understand. Tell me," I urged. He sighed, and finally turned his head to me.

"You want to understand? Fine. I failed against a villain. I wasn't able to even land a single hit on him, before he managed to knock me out for three weeks. I've usually been good about things like this, but this time was different. With help from Todoroki and Iida, we were able to bring down the Hero Killer, and yet I fell to a simple thief? Yeah, I can't believe it, either, Kacchan. Besides that, when I was knocked out, I….I...I gave in. I gave in, and I'm not proud of it at all. I gave in, and now everyone will be able to tell that I gave in. I just couldn't take it anymore, Kacchan. On top of all of that, I- no. I...I can't tell you that. I can't tell you, because even if I say it, you won't care. Why do you suddenly care about me now, Kacchan? Why don't you tell me that," Deku snapped. I blinked, surprised by this.

Despite all of that, his eyes were still dull. He didn't have any fire in them. This wasn't my Deku.

My Deku?

I liked the sound of that. I shook my head slightly. I couldn't think of that now. Not when he was acting like this.

"I've always cared about you, you damn nerd," I snapped back. Being gentle with him wasn't going to work, and I wasn't used to being gentle, anyways.

"Then why did you stop acting like it? I've always stuck by your side, until you yelled at me to stay away. That day, I cried. I knew you regretted saying what you did, but you never even came to me that night to apologize. I cried. My mother didn't even know why I cried. I couldn't very well tell her that who I thought was my only friend told me to jump off a roof," Deku spat.

I…

I had nothing to say to that. He was right. I never apologized for that. I stopped apologizing to him altogether. I hadn't wanted to become someone who was always apologizing, so that's why I had stopped. And, that one thing that he wouldn't tell me? Could it be that he liked me, too? I had to bite the bullet on this. If I didn't do it now, under these circumstances, I'd probably continue to get flustered and angry every single time. I faced Deku and, moving quickly but gently, I put my arms close to him, cupped his cheeks, and kissed him.

Almost immediately, a sweetness started to fill my mouth. He tasted like strawberries and cream. His lips were still a little cold, but I'd warm them up soon enough. What made this even better was the fact that, after the initial shock wore off, he started to kiss me back. After a few moments that felt like an eternity, we gently came apart. He looked at me, his eyes wide with shock.

"Did….Did you just…." he trailed off. I nodded. He bit his lower lip, and looked away for a few seconds before looking at me again. "K-Kacchan…? C-Could we, I mean,would it be okay if-"

"Of course, Dek- no. Izuku," I said. We came together again, and this time I gently wrapped my arms around him. This time, when we broke apart, and I held him in my arms, as he eyes opened from the kiss, I could feel my heart leaping. His eyes were back to their beautiful emerald color. He was even looking more lively than ever, just as always. My Izuku was back.

"Well, I'll be," a voice from the doorway said. Both Izuku and I turned our heads, and saw his mother standing there, along with Recovery Girl, Uraraka, and Iida. Both Uraraka and Iida were giving me thumbs up. Izuku's mother and Recovery Girl were smiling. As they all came into the room, I got off the bed to give Recovery Girl room, so she could heal Deku's arm and ankle. Once they were healed, I helped Izuku out of bed, and he went with his mother so they could fill out the discharge paperwork.

Once they were gone, and Recovery Girl had given me another smile before leaving, I walked with Uraraka and Iida so we could wait outside for Deku.

"So, we need to tell you something. We actually knew that Deku really liked you, but, we didn't want to say anything, because we figured he'd tell you when he was ready," Uraraka confessed.

"It's true. And, when you told us that you had feelings for him as well, we had debated about telling you his feelings, but decided against it, again wanting him to do it instead of us," Iida said.

"How did you two get to kissing, anyways?" Uraraka asked.

"We were arguing. I did it in the heat of the moment," I said bluntly.

"Only you'd do that, Bakugou," Uraraka laughed. We kept talking for a while more until Izuku and his mother came out. I walked over to him, and laced his fingers with mine. He gave me one of his huge smiles, and I gave him one of my very rare smiled back. As all four of us walked back to the dorms talking, Izuku and I never let go of each other.

* * *

The next day, when we were back in class. Mr. Aizawa had welcomed Izuku back, and things were normal. A few people commented on Izuku and I's relationship, but no one really complained about it.

At lunch, Izuku and I would sit next to each other. We'd try to hold hands every now and then, or we'd walk while I kept my arm around his waist. I still kept up my reputation for the most part. The only thing I had changed was my attitude towards Izuku. Having him as my boyfriend was the most incredible feeling in the world, and I wouldn't change anything about it.

* * *

**~I~**

Having Kacchan as my boyfriend had changed everything.

Everything the image had said to me was silenced. I no longer had to pine from afar. I could be upfront about my feelings with him. When he had first kissed me in the hospital, it had been shocking, to say the least, but knowing that he felt the same as I did, it had made everything better.

No one really complained about Kacchan and I being together. I think it was because they were afraid of Kacchan blowing up at them, but, it didn't matter to me. I was happy. Kacchan was happy. Every now and then, either I would sleep in his dorm, or he'd come and sleep in mine.

One time when we were alone, he had asked me to elaborate on what I had meant at the hospital, when I had said I had given in. It was hard for me to think back on it, and I hadn't wanted to mention anything of it, but, I had eventually relented and told him everything that had happened when I had been trapped in my mind. It was hard to explain to him, but when I had finally managed, he soothed my worries, and had just held me for a long time afterwards.

Another thing was that for the most part, he had stopped calling me Deku in a negative light. The only time he really did was when we were perfecting hero techniques in class, and we had to refer to each other by our hero names.

I didn't have to worry about anything really anymore. Finally being with Kacchan, I could be happy.

* * *

And thus ends my first MHA fic!

Again, look forward to both Burden of Time and Running from the Past!

Until then!


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